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A Ham in a Role
A Ham in a Role is a 1949 Looney Tunes short planned by Arthur Davis and finished by Robert McKimson. Plot A dog is tired of appearing in cartoons and goes home to study the works of Shakespeare. Upon arriving back home, the dog finds that his home has been invaded by gophers. Unfazed, the dog then begins reading Hamlet. Upon discovering the gophers sleeping in the book, he throws the book out the window. The Goofy Gophers then get their revenge on the dog by literally interpreting lines from Shakespeare works, including "lending him ears," tormenting him with flames (to his foot), dousing him with "the joy of life" (by dumping a tub of water on the dog), dumping Limburger cheese as the dog utters the "that which we call a rose" line while holding a rose, imitating the exhumed Yorick in a dance (making the dog appear like a Shakespearean coward), using magnets on the floor and ceiling to toss the dog around the room (in armor), with the coup de grâce coming about when the Gophers use a horse to kick the dog out of his house and back to the studio, where the dog laments that "parting is such sweet sorrow," returning to the studio where he began as the song "You Ought to Be in Pictures" plays in the background. The dog recites, "To be...or not to be..." only to be splatted by the pie in the face again. Availability * (2007) DVD - My Dream Is Yours * (2008) DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc 1 (Original opening and ending restored) * (2008) DVD - Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volume 6, Disc 1 (Original opening and ending) * (2014) Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 1 (Original opening and ending) Notes * The short draws heavily from the works of William Shakespeare, with its gags relying on literal interpretations of lines from Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Richard III, and Romeo and Juliet. * This cartoon was originally issued as a Looney Tunes short with the Looney Tunes music. When it was re-issued, the cartoon was re-issued with Merrie Melodies credits, but retained the Looney Tunes music. Moreover, despite being reissued, the short's original ending titles were still shown as a part of gag after the opening credits. * Its working title was "A Hammy Hamlet".http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-a-ham-in-a-role/ * This would be the dog's last short in the Golden Age of American Animation (The dog would be recycled for a single short in the 1990s in the World Premiere Toons series) to star the dog that had opposed the Gophers in their first two appearances. In addition, this is the first Gophers cartoon to be directed by McKimson; it was supposed to be directed by Arthur Davis, but when Warner Bros. Cartoons reduced from four units to three, "A Ham in a Role" was reassigned to McKimson, along with animators J.C. Melendez and Emery Hawkins. * The Shakespeare references recited by the dog in order of appearance and character role are as follows: ** Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 (Hamlet) ** Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2 (Marc Antony) ** Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5 (Ghost) ** Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2 (Juliet) ** Hamlet Act 5, Scene 1 (Hamlet, about Yorick) ** Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5 (Hamlet, to Ghost) ** Julius Caesar Act 2, Scene 2 (Julius Caesar) ** Richard III Act 5, Scene 3 (Last lines of the scene of which Richard is preparing his soldiers for battle) ** Richard III Act 5, Scene 4 (Catesby and Richard III) ** Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2 (Juliet) ** Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 (Hamlet, with a comedic twist) Gallery IMG_3418.png|Original Opening IMG_3419.png|Original Opening 2 IMG 2460.png A Ham in a Role screenshot.png 199519 10150148367593926 223597233925 6487776 1498526 n.jpg Goofy-gopherr-skeleton-twins-300x190.jpg IMG_3420.png|Originals Ending AHamInARole001-600.jpg HamInARole-2-600.jpg A-ham-in-a-role-us-lobbycard-the-goofy-gophers-aka-mac-tosh-left-1949-E5M7PK.jpg References External Links * Category:Goofy Gophers Cartoons Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson Category:Shorts Category:Looney Tunes Shorts Category:1949 Category:Blue Ribbon reissues Category:Cartoons animated by Charles McKimson Category:Cartoons animated by Bill Melendez Category:Cartoons animated by Emery Hawkins Category:Cartoons with layouts by Cornett Wood Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Stan Freberg Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist